Vanguard

History is not as we remember it. The French revolution in 1789 failed, put down bloodily by loyalist forces. The knock-on effects were many, but most importantly it stabilised European politics for the next century; the states were at an uneasy truce. With no blueprints for a successful revolution, North America remained under British control, and the Tzars of Russia are sleeping easy.

In the 1840s a Mathematician named Charles Babbage, taking advantage of the extra resources available to science and industry, succeeded in manufacturing a mechanical computer called the Analytical Engine. His computer was built a full century before silicon computers would be.

It is now 1910, but the world is closer to 2010 than the 1910 we remember. Babbage’s computers have been developed to incredible sizes, their power being measured in GearYards rather than MHz, and now rival modern computers in calculation power. But they are expensive, only those at the top of society can afford access to them. Victorian customs blend with incredible technology in today’s society. Giant Zeppelins stalk the skies, and steam-powered horseless carriages fill the streets. Victoria was spared a timely death by advanced medical equipment, and now languishes in perpetuity in the bowels of the imperial palace, much to her imperial displeasure.

This is the story of an older-model Zeppelin, currently docked in Victoria, christened Vanguard.